A12 Publishing information about the provision of RE on the school website

PUBLISHING INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROVISION OF RE ON THE SCHOOL WEBSITE

Since September 2012, schools have been required to publish information in relation to each academic year, relating to the content of the school’s curriculum for each subject and details about how additional information relating to the curriculum may be obtained. Schools following the AMV syllabus should apply the statutory programmes of study to their curriculum arrangements for RE for each year group and publish this along with curriculum arrangements for other subjects.

The DfE’s statutory guidance on the curriculum[1] makes it clear that ‘All schools are required to teach religious education at all key stages’ (3.6).

School leaders will want to emphasise in their documentation the vital role that high quality religious education can play in providing a well-rounded education for young people. Statements about the importance of RE can be found here: The Importance of RE.

Please note that if your school is part of a Multi-academy Trust (MAT) you may like to point with specific weblinks to overarching policies agreed by the MAT, e.g., on spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and British Values, but your school’s own curriculum plans should be featured on the school’s own website.

Here are the essential features for RE on school/academy websites:

  • Clear reference to the syllabus for RE and a link to it. For most schools in Bath and North East Somerset this is Awareness, Mystery, Value (AMV 2016): awarenessmysteryvalue.org
  • Clear indication of the basic content of the RE curriculum in each year. For our syllabus, this can be found here
  • A named RE subject leader and, for secondary schools, reference to the national examination courses being undertaken (GCSE/A level) and the latest results achieved
  • A statement about the right of parents to withdraw their children from RE and/or collective worship, together with an invitation to discuss any concerns with the Headteacher.
  • A school contact email and phone number for requesting hard copies of the school’s curriculum and policies or for further information.

Here are other good features to check or add to your own:

  • Information about the progression that pupils can make when they study RE in the school – highly useful for demonstrating progress to Ofsted or SIAMS inspectors! The information can be found here
  • Reference to particular resources being used to support RE. This may include information about how the programme of study links to the Understanding Christianity resource: awarenessmysteryvalue.org/resources/ > G09 & G10
  • Reports on RE visits or visitors or examples of children’s recent work in RE
  • A clear statement about collective worship in the school, such as a map of themes or topics being covered
  • Reference to the vision and values of the school, including how RE and collective worship contribute to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including British values
  • Links between RE, collective worship and other relevant school policies such as literacy, respect for different worldviews and helping pupils deal with controversial issues.

Note: your school’s website is your shop-window to raise awareness of the value of RE to a young person’s all-round education.

 

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-framework-for-key-stages-1-to-4/the-national-curriculum-in-england-framework-for-key-stages-1-to-4

All other documents in this category: